Sell a man a fish when he really needs to know how to fish himself, and you're ripping him off. Then too, there are times when he needs you to throw him a line.

CLIX ('command line interface for OS X') makes it easy to harness the power of Unix. It becomes both a fish to buy and a series of lessons in how to fish and ultimately a handy way to work.

It doesn't try to rip you off - it tries to teach you, so you become more independent and don't need that line thrown at you all the time.

The CLIX package includes a starter command database with over 1000 (yes, you read that right) system commands for investigating your system status, for cleaning out the junk files, for getting at secret settings for the Dock, the Finder, Spotlight, Dashboard, Exposé, and all of your most used applications, and all sorted for easy access, any way you wish.

You also gain access for the first time to the tens of thousands of unused files in your BSD subsystem, files no one's really told you about.

If it can be done in OS X, it can be done in CLIX - if it can't be done in CLIX, it can't be done.

And most importantly, CLIX is infinitely extensible: you can add to it at any time and in any way you please.

WYSIWYG, Black Box, Rolodex

With all the commands out there, it's good to have a general work of reference so you can easily find what you're looking for without having to struggle with manpages all night.

You don't have to struggle to remember syntax; you don't have to type a command more than once; you're always just a mouse click away.

Unlike other systems, CLIX is 100% 'WYSIWYG'. What you see is what you get: exactly the command lines you would use at a terminal if you were so inclined.

So sometime you might remember a command or two and try it on your own...

CLIX is very secure. It will not need your 'sudo' password more than once for an entire session. And nothing is stored on disk or in any keychain, so it's gone when you exit the program.

And you don't have to click on doodads to make it work: it's all automatic: put 'sudo' in a command line and CLIX will automatically submit it to your system - without use of 'carbonised' core services.

Manpage

It's right there all along but you don't see it; it stays discreetly out of your way until you need it: the new 'manpage' feature in CLIX.

Just click on the area to the left of the command buttons on the command sheet; the manpage box will appear; type in your search key and hit Enter: CLIX will format the manpage you requested in its output window.

You can't have your Unix documentation closer at hand.

ManOpen

CLIX now interfaces with the freeware learning utility ManOpen. Flipping between native CLIX manpages and ManOpen manpages is as easy as running a CLIX command!

Context Sensitive Help

You can also ⌥ (option)-double-click a word in the command line field to invoke the default help system. Or use ⌘ (cmd)-double-click to invoke the default 'apropos' system.

Safety First

CLIX clears your password if your computer goes into sleep mode and also clears your system wide sudo time stamp. Whoever next accesses your computer through either CLIX or Terminal will have to submit your password again.

Before and after: when your computer goes to sleep, CLIX clears your sudo password everywhere - even where you forget to look.

So you needn't worry anymore about interlopers accessing and taking advantage of your unattended machine: if you need to leave in a hurry, just put it to sleep.

[Safety update: CLIX 1.7 clears its TTY-specific sudo time stamp after every command.]

It's Everything, It's Free, No Strings

CLIX comes with commands for viewing all your system logs, for cleaning out browser caches, for pruning 'plist' preference files, for spelunking in root's back yard, for ridding your system of all kinds of junk, for seeing what your virtual memory is up to, what your Netinfo database manager is up to, and more, and more, and more.

'This is a terrific and useful piece of software based on an interesting concept which gives us a fascinating insight into the Unix command line roots of OS X. I like it :)' - Rufus J

'A first-class utility that no serious Mac user should be without. No matter how handy you are with the terminal you can't possibly remember every command that's available in CLIX. Kudos to Rixstep for continuing to maintain this invaluable piece of software - and keeping it free!' - tersonodesign

'This should ship with the OS.' - RP

'The best thing in the world. Replace all of those AppleScript wrappers around command line interfaces. If you do not have it stop looking and go get it NOW.' - iusethis.com

'Makes Cocktail look like a five minute hack. And it's free!' - iusethis.com

'It's just the right mix of power, ease of use, and helpful education.' - Mac|Life

'One word: AWESOME!!!' - MacUpdate

'Wow. This is amazing.' - MacUpdate

'Superb. Matchless. Outstanding.' - MacUpdate

'Holy smokes - this is a wonderful app.' - MacUpdate

'Crikey. A system maintenance app whose inner workings are not shrouded in mystery. Five stars all round.' - MacUpdate

'Superb app that demystifies the OS and educates and empowers the user. Elegant and efficient. An object lesson for other developers.' - MacUpdate

'Perfect work. The best app I have. 100 Stars.' - VersionTracker

'Now that I use CLIX, I wish I had my money back from all the software 'developers' who wrapped a simple Unix function and sold it here to those of us new to the 'nix environment.' - VersionTracker